Rural Family Practitioner Locum Program (RFPLP)
For: family physicians locuming in rural BC communities
- $1,275 per day (guaranteed minimum)
- 2.5 days of the guaranteed daily rate
IMG residency in Canada: eligibility and return of service by province
Where international medical graduates (IMGs) can apply in the CaRMS R-1 match, province by province: eligibility rules, return of service, and which programs have IMG-stream positions. Each fact links to where it was published.
Which route is yours?
CMG and IMG streams
CaRMS groups residency positions into application streams. Most are open only to Canadian medical graduates (CMGs); IMG streams are open only to international medical graduates who meet that province’s requirements. The provinces set the streams and how many positions each gets.
To enter the R-1 match as an IMG you need Canadian citizenship or permanent residence, and passes in the NAC Examination and the MCCQE Part I. Provinces add their own rules, below.
Quebec faculties use their own streams (“Regular”), and B.C.’s Competitive ROS stream is open to both CMGs and IMGs. Those aren’t counted as IMG streams on this page.
Observerships: fees, and the programs that say they don’t count, are on the practice-ready page.
Province by province
Summarised by CdnMD from the CaRMS provincial pages, ministry return-of-service documents and program agreements. The chips hold the exact wording. “Not found” means the item was searched for and isn’t in the published sources. Each row shows two facts; open a province for its full rules.
British Columbia
IMG-stream programs in British Columbia
A B.C. Supreme Court decision reported on 15 Sep 2026 found the province can’t require IMGs to work in underserved areas; the court suspended its ruling while the ministry makes changes. The province says all existing ROS agreements remain in effect while it reviews. These terms may change before the 2027 match.
No B.C. residency or high-school rule on the CaRMS page.
UBC’s Clinical Assessment Program (CAP) is mandatory for IMGs applying to first-year positions at UBC and SFU.
After matching: a week-and-a-half IMG orientation in Vancouver, June 2027.
None stated.
All IMG-stream positions and the Competitive ROS stream. None for CMG-stream positions.
2 years for Family Medicine, 3 years for Royal College specialties, full time, starting after residency.
A community of need chosen by the designated regional health authority.
Family Medicine (UBC) 2027 contract: $165,000 before residency starts, $330,000 in year 1, $660,000 from year 2 until the service is done, each plus interest. Not pro-rated. The Internal Medicine contract goes up to $1,045,000 plus interest.
Alberta
IMG-stream programs in Alberta
IMGs must first be found eligible by the Alberta International Medical Graduate (AIMG) Program to apply to Alberta IMG positions.
AIMG requires an Alberta connection: 2 years of full-time Alberta senior high school, 2 years in person at an accredited Alberta post-secondary school, or living in Alberta for a set 24-week period.
The AIMG Program is a competitive assessment process held before the CaRMS match.
2026 cycle: eligible if graduating by 1 Jul 2026. The 2027 date wasn’t on the page when checked.
No provincial return of service.
Not applicable.
Not applicable.
Not applicable.
Saskatchewan
IMG-stream programs in Saskatchewan
No Saskatchewan residency or high-school rule on the CaRMS page.
No pre-match assessment program on the CaRMS page.
None stated.
IMGs who match to Family Medicine or Royal College positions in the first iteration.
Year for year: months of service equal months of training.
A Saskatchewan community approved in writing by the Minister. Communities listed in the agreement’s Appendix A are excluded.
Pro-rated: the training funding received, less the share of service completed, plus interest. The published agreement is a template with the rate left blank.
Manitoba
IMG-stream programs in Manitoba
No Manitoba residency or high-school rule on the CaRMS page.
After matching: a mandatory two-week IMG orientation, June 2027.
None stated.
All IMGs sign a return-of-service contract with Manitoba Health, in the specialty they train in.
As long as the training program.
Not found in published sources.
Not found in published sources.
Ontario
IMG-stream programs in Ontario
None for the 2027 match. Ontario’s rule requiring 2 years of Ontario high school was rescinded on 23 Mar 2026, and CaRMS says no new IMG eligibility requirements apply to the 2027 match.
After matching: an Assessment Verification Period (AVP) of at least 12 weeks.
After matching: the Pre-Residency Program (PRP, or PRP-FM for Family Medicine).
None stated.
All ministry-funded IMG positions, including subspecialty positions and out-of-province transfers.
7,200 clinical hours (at least 120 hours a month) for agreements from 2026. The ministry’s web page still says 5 years.
Anywhere in Ontario except Ottawa and the Toronto area (Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Vaughan, Markham, Pickering).
Training cost per year × years of training, plus $4,000, plus interest if paid late.
The province said on 17 Apr 2026 that it intends to legislate priority for IMGs from Ontario. CaRMS’s Ontario page still shows a banner about the 2026 rule.
Quebec
IMG-stream programs in Quebec
No Quebec residency or high-school rule on the CaRMS page.
IMGs need recognition of MD equivalence from the Collège des médecins du Québec (CMQ), and upload the CMQ letter.
MD, residency or independent practice within the 4 years before applying.
Quebec-funded positions: no return-of-service terms on the CaRMS page. Eight New Brunswick-funded positions (Sherbrooke–Moncton) carry a New Brunswick commitment.
New Brunswick-funded positions: at least 5 years in New Brunswick.
New Brunswick-funded positions: New Brunswick.
New Brunswick-funded positions: $400,000 plus interest if the resident doesn’t practise in New Brunswick.
Quebec ministry (MSSS) return-of-service terms for Quebec-funded positions: not found in published sources.
Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island
IMG-stream programs in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island
The Nova Scotian IMG and New Brunswicker IMG streams require a “proven connection” to the province. The CaRMS page doesn’t define it.
No Prince Edward Island stream or rule found.
No pre-match assessment program on the CaRMS page.
Not considered if your skills will have been inactive for 3 years or more before 1 Jul 2027.
Dalhousie positions in the IMG stream.
Not found for Dalhousie positions. (New Brunswick-funded Sherbrooke–Moncton positions: see Quebec.)
Not found in published sources.
Not found in published sources.
Newfoundland and Labrador
IMG-stream programs in Newfoundland and Labrador
No Newfoundland and Labrador residency or high-school rule on the CaRMS page.
Minimum core clerkship rotations: 8 weeks each of medicine and surgery, 6 of pediatrics, 4 each of obstetrics/gynecology and psychiatry.
Not considered after more than 3 years away from medical school, training or practice at any point after starting medical school.
The IMG Family Medicine and IMG Internal Medicine streams.
Family Medicine: 2 years in the Labrador-Grenfell Health Zone or 5 years elsewhere in the province. Internal Medicine: 5 years.
Newfoundland and Labrador.
Family Medicine, default after graduating: $300,000 less a credit for each full month served, plus interest at prime + 2%.
Funding carve-outs in resident agreements
Resident pay and benefits are set by provincial collective agreements. Six of them have a clause that limits some terms by how a position is funded. The chips quote each clause in the agreement’s own words; ask the program how your position is funded.
B.C. (RDBC): Some benefits may not apply to sponsored, foreign-funded or out-of-province residents.
Alberta (PARA): Some benefits may not apply to sponsored, foreign-funded or out-of-province residents.
Saskatchewan (RDoS): Some benefits may not apply to sponsored, foreign-funded or out-of-province residents.
Ontario (PARO): Some benefits may not apply to sponsored, foreign-funded or out-of-province residents.
Quebec (FMRQ): Some benefits may not apply to sponsored, foreign-funded or out-of-province residents.
N.S., N.B. and P.E.I. (MarDocs): Some benefits may not apply to sponsored, foreign-funded or out-of-province residents.
IMG-stream programs
204 programs have IMG-stream positions, with 415 positions in total (quota as published on each program’s CaRMS page, 2027 match).
| Province | Programs | Positions |
|---|---|---|
| Ontario | 123 | 225 |
| British Columbia | 21 | 63 |
| Alberta | 21 | 60 |
| Manitoba | 14 | 32 |
| Nova Scotia | 12 | 17 |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 5 | 7 |
| Saskatchewan | 4 | 7 |
| New Brunswick | 4 | 4 |
IMG matches over time
IMGs matched in the R-1 match: 671 (2024) → 851 (2025) → 931 (2026), first and second iterations combined.
Family Medicine made up 69.8% of first-iteration IMG positions in 2026 after reversions (54.2% before).
A reversion moves a position that didn’t fill to another program or stream. In 2026, 249 positions were reverted into IMG Family Medicine.
| Year | IMGs matched |
|---|---|
| 2017 | 411 |
| 2018 | 398 |
| 2019 | 391 |
| 2020 | 418 |
| 2021 | 410 |
| 2022 | 439 |
| 2023 | 555 |
| 2024 | 671 |
| 2025 | 851 |
| 2026 | 931 |
| Group | Quota | Reverted in | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Family Medicine | 260 | 249 | 509 |
| Internal Medicine | 72 | 0 | 72 |
| Non-surgical disciplines | 114 | 0 | 114 |
| Surgical disciplines | 34 | 0 | 34 |
| All | 480 | 249 | 729 |
Incentives and return of service
For physicians and residents of any background, not only IMGs: the signing bonuses, rural and recruitment incentives, return-of-service bursaries, locum rates and loan forgiveness that governments, health authorities and official programs publish, by province and territory. Each figure is shown as its source states it, with the date it takes effect when the source gives one.
Figures aren’t added up or compared. Programs differ in who qualifies, which communities count and what service is owed, and a longer list for one province means more was found on its official pages, not that more is offered. Amounts are gross, in Canadian dollars, unless the line says otherwise. The chips hold the publisher’s exact wording. “Not found” means the item was searched for and isn’t on the published pages. The return-of-service rules for IMG residency positions are in the province blocks above.
British Columbia
Rural Specialist Locum Program (RSLP)
For: specialists locuming in rural BC communities
- $1,875 per day (guaranteed minimum)
Rural Retention Program (RRP): fee premium and flat fee
For: physicians in eligible rural communities (any payment model)
- 30% of eligible MSP billings (maximum)
- At least 9 months of each year in an eligible community
- $75,000 of eligible billings in the previous calendar year
Recruitment Incentive Fund (RIF)
For: physicians recruited to a vacancy in an eligible rural community
- A: $20,000
- B: $15,000
- C: $10,000
- D: $5,000
- Repay in full if you leave within 1 year
- 3 times a physician can receive it
- A resident who moves to full-time practice in an eligible community may receive it
Recruitment Contingency Fund (RCF): relocation help
For: physicians recruited to a permanent vacancy in an eligible rural community
- From outside Canada: $15,000
- From outside BC, within Canada: $12,000
- Within BC: $9,000
- $25,000 per permanent vacancy (health authority grant)
- Repay in full if you leave within 1 year
- A resident who moves to full-time practice in an eligible community may be eligible
- You must also be eligible for, and receiving, the Recruitment Incentive Fund payment
Alberta
Rural, Remote, Northern Program (RRNP)
For: physicians in eligible rural, remote and northern communities, locums included
- A percentage premium on every insured service, locums included
- $50,000 of insured services in the community (income must be greater than)
- Not found in the published sources
Rural and Remote Family Medicine Resident Physician Bursary (pilot)closed
For: family medicine residents at the University of Alberta or University of Calgary, including those matched from other provinces or abroad
Closed to new applications on 31 December 2025 because the budget was fully allocated. Listed so you can see it existed; check whether it returns.- $200,000
- $125,000
- A minimum of 15,210 patient visits within 60 months and one day of finishing residency
- Yes
- Closed
Physician Locum Services (PLS): rural locum guarantee
For: rostered family and specialist locums covering rural Alberta
- $1,000 per day (net guarantee, averaged over each assignment)
- $200 per weekday, paid by the locum for office coverage
- $1,500 per day (minimum, averaged over assignment)
Saskatchewan
Rural Physician Incentive Program
For: family physicians practising, or returning to practise, in rural Saskatchewan
- $200,000 over five years (up to)
- Not found in the published sources
Family Medicine Resident Bursary (return-in-service)
For: family medicine (and R3) residents at the University of Saskatchewan, or Saskatchewan graduates training elsewhere in Canada
- $25,000 per year of funding, one lump sum (up to 3 years, $75,000)
- 1 year per funded year
- 2 years per funded year
- October 31 each year
- University of Saskatchewan residency, or a Saskatchewan medical graduate in another Canadian family medicine program
High-Demand Resident Incentive (anesthesiology, diagnostic radiology, emergency medicine)
For: University of Saskatchewan residents in years 4 and 5 of those specialty programs
- $60,000 (up to; $30,000 a year for 2 years)
- 1 year of full-time service per year of funding
- October 31 each year; reapply each year
Manitoba
Rural and Northern Retention Benefit
For: physicians who provide at least 108 days of service a year in rural or northern Manitoba, three years running
- $25,000 every three years (rural physicians)
- At least $25,000 for three years of continuous service
- 108 days per program year (April 1 to March 31), three consecutive years
- Provincial government
Physician retention bonus (every five years)
For: physicians in Manitoba, by years of service and location
- $15,000 to $30,000 every five years
- Not found in the published sources
Manitoba Locum Tenens Program (MLTP)
For: locums covering rural, urban and remote practices in Manitoba
- A daily stipend paid by the program, plus overhead reimbursed to the host
- 15% of billings kept by the host clinic for overhead (urban program, fee for service)
- Not found in the published sources
Ontario
Northern and Rural Recruitment and Retention Initiative (NRRRI)
For: physicians starting a full-time practice in an eligible northern or rural community
- $84,851 to $124,730 over four years
- Year 1: 40%
- Year 2: 15%
- Year 3: 15%
- Year 4: 30%
- One grant per career
- Repay the grant pro rata if you leave the community before four years
Ontario Learn and Stay Grant for Medical Education
For: Ontario residents in the first year of a family medicine residency at an Ontario medical school, who graduated from an Ontario medical school
- Undergraduate medical school tuition, books and other direct costs (no dollar amount stated)
- 5 years of comprehensive primary care as a family physician anywhere in Ontario
- The grant becomes a repayable loan
- Other specialties, out-of-province medical school graduates and current undergraduate students
- Applications open; only first-year family medicine residents at an Ontario medical school
Northern Specialist Locum Programs: sessional rates (Respite and Urgent Locum Tenens)
For: specialist locums in northern Ontario
- $591.25 per sessional of travel time (3 to 4 hours = 1 sessional)
- $713.51 per clinical sessional in the Urgent program (3 to 4 hours); $2,140.53 for 9 to 12 hours
- Arranged directly with the hospital or local specialist(s); the page sets no clinical rate for the Respite programs
- $386.44 per necessary travel day
- Assignments starting on or after April 1, 2026
- Not found in the published sources
Quebec
MSSS bursaries for family medicine in designated remote or isolated territories
For: medical students and family medicine residents (R1, R2) enrolled in a Quebec faculty of medicine and domiciled in Quebec
- $20,000 per year, category A (family medicine resident in the licence year, R2)
- $20,000 per year, category B (family medicine resident, R1)
- $15,000 per year, category C (medical student in the graduating year)
- $15,000 per year, category D (medical student the year before graduating)
- One year of service per bursary received
- 4 years (maximum commitment)
- Repay the money received with interest
- Domiciled in Quebec; enrolled in a Quebec faculty of medicine
- 1 March to 31 May before the academic year
Family physicians in Nunavik: non-negotiated incentives and per diem
For: family physicians practising in Nunavik
- An annual installation premium that depends on the weeks committed; see the documentunclear in the source
- $1,415 per day
New Brunswick
Family medicine recruitment and rural incentives (Horizon Health Network)
For: family physicians recruited by Horizon
- Recruitment incentive: $50,000
- Rural incentive: $100,000
- Not found in the published sources
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia Health relocation allowance
For: physicians who accept a full-time practice opportunity in Nova Scotia
- $20,000 (moving costs reimbursed, up to)
- Stay in full-time practice for one year or return the allowance
Rural specialist practice support and retention incentive
For: specialists working in Nova Scotia's rural communities
- $25,000 per year
- $16,000 per year, after three years
Department of Health and Wellness incentive for a new full-time community practice
For: family physicians and specialists who set up a full-time community-based practice (not those paid through an Alternative Payment Plan)
- $75,000 (up to): $25,000 on signing, then $10,000 a year for five years
- $125,000 over five years (up to)
- Not available to physicians paid through an Alternative Payment Plan (part-time APP and community practice may get a pro-rated amount)
First Through the Door (vacant services)
For: new recruits to a service that is vacant
- 20% increase to base pay (service completely vacant)
- 3 years the incentive is paid from the start date
Nova Scotia Provincial Locum Program
For: family medicine and designated specialist locums
- Family physician: $1,200
- Specialist: $1,600
- July 24, 2023
- $250 per day (paid where applicable)
- $1,200 per day
Newfoundland and Labrador
Physician Signing Bonus Program
For: family physicians and specialists new to practice, new to the province, or new to NL Health Services
- Northeast Avalon: $100,000
- Rural Newfoundland or Labrador: $150,000
- Top-up for difficult-to-fill positions: $25,000
- Five years of full-time practice (flexible arrangements available)
- Physicians in the final three years of a residency program at a Canadian university are eligible
- The 2025-26 incentives guide is marked as expired on March 31, 2026; the program page above still lists these tiers
Physician Recruitment Incentive Pilot (return-in-service)
For: physicians committing to full-time primary care and/or emergency department coverage in selected communities
- Selected communities: $100,000
- Labrador-Grenfell Zone: $150,000
- 3 years (renewable up to)
Family Practice Programs: start-up funding and new-physician income guarantee
For: new family physicians opening or joining a fee-for-service practice; residents may apply in any year
- $150,000 for a five-year provincial service agreement
- Medical residents can apply in any year of a residency program
Medical Resident Bursary Program
For: medical residents, including graduates of other jurisdictions finishing the last two years of training in NL
- Family medicine
- 0 (Labrador): $90,000
- 1: $70,000
- 2: $60,000
- 3: $50,000
- 3a (St. John's): $40,000
- Specialist
- 0 (Labrador): $90,000
- 1: $70,000
- 2: $60,000
- 3: $50,000
- 3a (St. John's): no amount stated
- Family medicine
- 36 months per bursary; one bursary per recipient
- January 31 of the academic year of application
- Graduates of other jurisdictions completing the last two years of training in NL are eligible
Provincial Locum Recruitment Program
For: locum physicians in NL
- $1,584.39 per day from October 1, 2026 (specialists)
- $1,168.65 per day from October 1, 2026 (physicians)
- $10,000 for more than 25 days of on-site, in-person locum service per fiscal year
- $210 per host physician per day, up to 10 days a fiscal year (paid to the host practice)
Prince Edward Island
Physician incentives on Physician Careers PEI (return-in-service grants, moving, site visits, locum support)status unclear
For: physicians moving to designated areas of PEI
The program page lists these programs without amounts, so no figure is shown. The amounts are on the Government of PEI page “Financial incentives for physicians”.- Return-in-service grants, moving reimbursement, a site visit program and a locum support program
- Not found in the published sources
Yukon
CCFP and RCPSC Recruitment Program (return of service)
For: new CCFP or Royal College certificants who relocate to Yukon or live there and graduated within five years
- $125,000 over five years ($25,000 a year)
- $125,000 over five years, in addition
- $125,000 over five years, in addition (not both supplements)
- 5 years of return of service
- Newly relocated to Yukon, or resident and graduated within the last five years
- April 1, 2025 to March 31, 2028
Northwest Territories
NWT salaried contracts and locum benefits (Practice NWT)
For: physicians and locums working in the NWT
- A salaried contract for one, two or three years
- Daily and on-call rates, a travel-time stipend, furnished accommodation, arranged travel, and a recurrent locum incentive
- Not found in the published sources
Nunavut
Nunavut locum commitment bonusstatus unclear
For: locum physicians who commit to ongoing service in Nunavut
The only figures on the page are dated 1 April 2019, and the page doesn’t say whether the contracts are still offered. Treat them as possibly out of date.- $20,000 for at least 75 service days in one year, all dates committed in advance
- $30,000 for at least 105 service days in one year, all dates committed in advance
Federal: Canada Student Loans
Canada Student Loan forgiveness for family doctors and family medicine residents in rural communities
For: family doctors and family medicine residents with a Canada Student Loan balance who work in an eligible rural or remote community
- $60,000 (up to) over 5 years: $8,000, $10,000, $12,000, $14,000, $16,000
- A population centre with no more than 30,000 people; the previous definition stays for doctors and nurses until after the 2026 census
- 5 years of service, not necessarily consecutive
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